One of the earliest causes of ill feeling between the islanders of Cuba and the people of Spain occurred just at the end of the administration of Las Casas in 1796. In the seventy years prior to that time a great navy yard grew up on the Bay of Havana, and 114 war vessels were built there to convoy the Spanish treasure ships. All at once this flourishing industry was closed on the demand of the ship-builders of Spain that the work should be done in the mother country. As might have been expected, this aroused great indignation among a large number of people in Havana who had been dependent upon the industry. It was about the same time, or just a hundred years before the outbreak of our war with Spain, that sugar became an important article of general commerce. Even then, however, it was not an article of common consumption, and was held at extravagantly high prices, measured by the present cheapness of the article. Market reports of the time show that the price approximated forty cents a pound, and this at a time when the purchasing power of money was at least twice as great as it is now. As the price has fallen, the product and the consumption have increased, until of late years it has been an enormous source of revenue to the Island of Cuba. When Napoleon Bonaparte abducted the royal family of Spain and deposed the Bourbon dynasty in 1808, every member of the provincial counsel of Cuba took an oath to preserve the island for their legitimate sovereign. The Colonial government immediately declared war against Napoleon and proclaimed Ferdinand VII. as king. It was by this action that the colony earned its title of "The ever-faithful isle," which has been excellent as a complimentary phrase, but hardly justified by the actual facts. For some years following this action, affairs in the island were in an embarrassing condition, owing to the progress of the Napoleonic wars in Europe, which kept all trade disturbed and Spain in a constant condition of disorder. If it had not been for the fortunate election of one or two of the governors things might have been even worse than they were, and it was considered that Cuba was enjoying quite as much peace and prosperity as were her neighbor colonies and the mother governments of Europe. In 1812 a negro conspiracy broke out and attained considerable success, and as a result of it the Spanish governors began to be more and more severe in their administrations.